World News - U.S. commander blames 'terrorists and death squads' for surge of Baghdad violence

The top U.S. commander in Iraq said Wednesday that "terrorists and death squads" are mainly responsible for a surge in sectarian violence in the capital, and he pledged to provide whatever U.S. forces are needed to avert civil war. Gen. George Casey, at a joint news conference with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, told reporters that al-Qaeda is carrying out terrorist killings in the Baghdad area in an attempt to "demonstrate that they are still relevant" after the June 7 killing of their leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. 'What we are seeing now as a counter to that is death squads, primarily from Shiite extremist groups that are retaliating against civilians," Casey said. "So you have both sides now attacking civilians, and that is what has caused the recent spike in violence here in Baghdad." Casey said he was consulting with the Iraqi government on means of counteracting the violence. Asked whether that might include putting more U.S. troops in the Baghdad area, Casey ... http://www.usatoday.com

The journalist at the centre of an extensive criminal investigation into the naming of a CIA agent has revealed that top presidential aide Karl Rove played a major role in the affair.Robert Novak, a conservative columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, admitted publicly for the first time that Mr Rove, a close adviser to George Bush, had been one of his sources for a story outing CIA agent Valerie Plame. Publicly naming a CIA operative is a criminal offence in the US. The affair raised suggestions that the White House was endangering national security for the sake of discrediting an Iraq war critic.Ms Plame's husband Joseph Wilson, a former diplomat, had been sent on a fact-finding mission to Niger to investigate claims that Saddam Hussein had attempted to obtain "yellow cake" uranium ore from the country for a nuclear weapons programme....http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1818726,00.html?gusrc=rss

Check out what some people make heading different companies. At one time during the 50s, the owner of a company made about 40 times more that the average employee. Looks like times have changed, now some CEOs will make more money during the time it takes them to go to the bathroom and have a crap, than the employees will make all year. It’s almost as if they live in a different world. You could have some fun figuring how much money some of these people make a minute. Or it could be depressing depending on viewpoint....http://projects.washingtonpost.com/post200/2006/executives-by-compensation/

The Israeli army said Wednesday that three of its soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah raid in which two other soldiers were captured. The army withheld news of the deaths for several hours while the soldiers' families were notified.Following the raid, Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon in hopes of rescuing the captured soldiers. Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire also hit targets in southern Lebanon.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the soldiers' capture "an act of war" and his Cabinet prepared to approve more military action in Lebanon — a second front in the fight against Islamic militants by Israel, which already is waging an operation to free a captured soldier in the Gaza Strip....http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-12-lebanon-israel_x.htm?csp=34

Firefighters evacuated dozens more people from their homes early Wednesday as a wildfire raced across the desert and consumed several structures in a desert locale where dozens of Hollywood Westerns were filmed.Winds exceeding 40 mph fanned the flames, and officials said they didn’t expect the strong wind and dry conditions to change anytime soon. The fire had burned more than 17,000 acres.Dozens were evacuated from communities in Little Morongo Canyon and Burns Canyon. Up to 1,000 fled the flames Tuesday, authorities said. The blaze burned through historic Pioneertown, destroying at least 30 homes and buildings there and in surrounding towns. It was unclear whether any historic structures were destroyed, said California Department of Forestry Capt. Marc DeRosier.Evacuees included Linda Krantz, an employee at Pappy & Harriet’s restaurant in Pioneertown, who just had time to grab computers and books before leaving....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13827276/

A city task force says the Los Angeles Police Department is too small and needs to undertake major reforms to avoid another crisis like a corruption scandal that rocked the ranks seven years ago.The review panel concluded in its report, issued Tuesday, that supervisors still fail to provide adequate oversight and control of officers, a problem during the 1999 scandal involving an anti-gang unit.The panel also faulted the city's criminal justice system, saying it lacks sufficient checks to prevent officers from lying or fabricating evidence.It called Los Angeles the most under-policed big city in the nation, saying the size of the police force is a major factor in tension between the police and some segments of the public....http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/12/ap/national/mainD8IQFGQ80.shtml